414 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
'[May 2Ij 1904. 
iPORT^HAN TOURIST 
Trails of the Pathfinders.— VIIL 
Lewis and Clatk* — 1. 
Most famous of all the pathfinders of the TJnited 
States are Lewis and Clark, explorers of the Missouri 
River to its headwaters, and of the Columbia, from its 
headwaters to the Pacific; and thus the spanners of the 
continent. They were not, it is true, the first to traverse 
the wilderness which lay between the Atlantic and the 
Pacific, but of these who bore the name American they 
were the first. 
In 1803 Louisiana was ceded by France to the LTnited 
States for the sum of about fifteen millions of dollars; 
but its boundaries were entirely uncertain, and neither 
the nation which sold nor that which bought knew what 
this territory included, how far it extended north or 
south or west, nor who nor what were its inhabitants. 
There were a few French, a few Spaniards, a few Creoles, 
together with some Americans, English and Germans, and 
the slaves which they possessed. Little was known of the 
country, save for a short distance beyond the Missis- 
sippi River ; but it was obviously important to the new 
owners of the land to find out at once what the purchase 
meant to the United States. 
One thing seemed certain : the population of the United 
States, which had already spread far beyond the Alle- 
gheny Mountains, was constantly increasing, and 
constantly pushing westward. The encroachments of the 
whites on the territory occupied by various tribes of the 
Indians were continual, and the Indians, naturally enough, 
lesented, and sometimes resisted, these encroachments. 
Here, west of the Mississippi River, was a vast territory, 
unoccupied save by Indian tribes, many of whom were 
wanderers. The population of this unoccupied territory 
was so sparse that no doubt it seemed to President Jef - 
ferson that here was room for all the Indians east of the 
Mississippi, and one of his first acts after the cession 
was concluded, was to attempt to learn what he could 
with regard to the occupancy of this territory, presumably 
in the hope that all the Indians east of the Mississippi 
n.iight be persuaded to move westward beyond that river. 
Besides this, Jefferson had already — more than ten years 
before — endeavored to send out men to cross the conti- 
nent to the Pacific Coast, but the efifort had failed. But 
in January, 1803, before the completion of the purchase of 
Louisiana, he attempted this once more, recommending 
to Congress the dispatching of a party to trace the Mis- 
souri River to its source, and to go thence to the Pacific 
Ocean. 
It is impossible for any man now living to conceive 
what such an expedition must have meant to the men who 
were to command it. Here was a vast and unknown ter- 
ritory of indefinite width, peopled by unknown in- 
habitants, uncertain as to its food supply, containing un- 
known dangers and obstacles, which must be crossed on 
foot— though the journey could be begun by boat. It is 
true that the rumors long before brought back from the 
upper Mississippi Valley by Carver suggested waterways 
across the continent, but these were no more than rumors, 
and were mingled with an amount of fable which cast 
doubt on the whole story. It will be remembered that 
Carver, speaking of the country west of the St. Pierre 
(Minnesota) River, says: 
."A little to the northwest of the heads of the Mis- 
souri and the St. Pierre, the Indians further told me, that 
there was a nation rather smaller and whiter than the 
neighboring tribes, who^ cultivate the ground, and (as far 
as I could gather from their expressions) in some 
measure the arts. To this account they added that some 
of the nations who inhabit those parts that lie to the west 
of the Shining Mountains have gold so plenty among 
them that they make their most common utensils of it. 
These mountains (which I shall describe more particu- 
larly hereafter) divide the waters that fall into the South 
Sea from those that run into the Atlantic. 
"The people dwelling near them are supposed to be 
some of the different tribes that were tributary to the 
Mexican kings, and who fled from their native country to 
seek an asylum in these parts about the time of the con- 
quest of Mexico by the Spaniards, more than two cen- 
turies ago. 
"As some confirmation of this supposition, it is re- 
marked that they have chosen the most interior parts 
for their retreat, being still prepossessed with a notion 
that the sea coasts have been infested ever since with 
iiionsters vomiting fire, and hurling about thunder and 
h'ghtning; from whose bowels issued men, who, with un- 
seen instruments, or by the power of magic, killed the 
harmless Indians at an astonishing distance. From such 
as these their forefathers (according to a tradition 
among them that still remains unimpaired) fled to the re- 
tired abodes they now inhabit. For, as they found that 
the floating monsters which had thus terrified them could 
not approach the land, and that those who had descended' 
from their sides did not care to make excursions to any 
considerable distance from them, they formed a resolu- 
tion to betake themselves to some country that lay far 
from the seacoast, where only they could be secure from 
5iuch diabolical enemies. They accordingly set out wth 
their families, and, after a long peregrination, settled 
themselves near these mountains, where they concluded 
they had found a place of perfect security. * * * 
"That range of mountains, of which the Shining Moun- 
tains are a part, begin at Mexico, and, continuing north- 
ward on the back, or to the east of California, separate 
the waters of those numerous rivers that fall either into 
the Gulf of _ Mexico or the Gulf of California. From 
thence, continuing their course still northward between 
the sources of the Mississippi and the rivers that run into 
the South Sea, they appear to- end in about forty-seven or 
forty-eight degrees of north latitude, where a number of 
rivers arise and empty themselves either into the South 
Sea, into Hudson Bay, or into the waters that com- 
municate between these two seas. 
"Among these mountains, those that lie to the west of 
the River St. Pierre are called the Shining Mountains, 
from an infinite number of crystal stones, of an amazing 
size, with which they are covered, and which, when the 
sun shines full upon them, sparkle so as to be seen at a 
very great distance. 
"This extraordinary range of mountains is calculated 
to be more than three thousand miles in length, without 
any very considerable intervals, which, I believe, sur- 
passes anything of the kind in the other quarters of the 
globe. Probably in future ages they may be found to 
contain more riches in their bowels than 'those of In- 
dostan and Malabar, or that are produced on the Golden 
Coast of Guinea; nor will I except even the Peruvian 
Mines. To the west of these mountains, when explored 
by future Columbuses or Raleighs, may be found other 
lakes, rivers and countries, full fraught with all the 
necessaries or luxuries of life; and where future genera- 
tions may find an asylum, whether driven from their 
country by the ravages of lawless tyrants or by religious 
persecutions, or reluctantly leaving it to remedy the in- 
conveniences arising from a superabundant increase of 
inhabitants; whether, I say, impelled by these, or allured 
by hopes of commercial advantages, there is little doubt 
but their expectations will be fully gratified in these rich 
and unexhausted climes." 
Such was the information concerning the proposed 
journey which Lewis and Clark possessed. But they were 
made of the stuff which constituted the old-time Ameri- 
cans ; they had the sturdy independence, the unshrinking 
courage, and the dogged perseverance which gave to 
America its Daniel Boone, its Davy Crockett, and its 
Zebulon M. Pike ; and they set out with cheerfulness, 
even with eagerness, to perform their task. The expedi- 
tion started late in the year 1803, and proceeded up the 
river by boat. There were about forty-five men at the start, 
of whom twenty-five were soldiers, the whole company be- 
ing enlisted as soldiers a little later. The baggage of the 
outfit consisted chiefly of ammunition, together with goods 
to be used as presents for the Indians. The transportation 
consisted of boats, one a keel boat, 55 feet long, drawing 
3 feet of water, fitted for 22 oars and a sail ; the other two 
were pirogues, or open boats, one of six, the other of 
seven oars. There were two horses, which were to be 
taken along the bank for the purpose of hunting in time 
of scarcity, or for bringing in game that was killed. 
Having wintered at Wood River, the start was made 
on the 14th of May, 1804. At first their progress was not 
rapid._ Nevertheless, before long they came to the coun- 
try of the Osages. The story given of the origin of the 
tribe is worth repeating: "According to universal be- 
lief, the founder of the nation was a snail, passing a 
quiet existence ,along the banks of the Osage, till a high 
flood swept him down to the Missouri, and left him ex- 
posed oh the shore. The heat of the sun at length 
ripened him into a man; but with the change of his nature 
he had riot forgotten his native seats on the Osage, to- 
ward which he immediately bent his way. He was, how- 
ever, soon overtaken by hunger and fatigue, when, hap- 
pily, the Great Spirit appeared, and, giving him a bow and 
arrow, showed him how to kill and cook deer, and cover 
hirnself with the skin. He then proceeded to his original 
residence; but as he approached the river he was met by 
a beaver, who inquired, haughtily, who he was, and by 
what authority he came to disturb his possession. The 
Osage answered that the river was his own, for he had 
once lived on its borders. As they stood disputing, the 
daughter of the beaver came, and having, by her en- 
treaties, reconciled her father to this young stranger, it 
was proposed that the Osage should marry the young 
beaver, and share with her family the enjoyment of the 
river. The Osage readily consented, and from this happy 
union there soon came the village and the nation of the 
Wasbasha, or Osages, who have ever since preserved a 
pious reverence for their ancestors, abstaining from the 
chase of the beaver, because in killing that animal they 
killed a brother of the Osage." 
Struggling on northward, Lewis and Clark passed the 
Otoes and Missourias, and on June 25 reached the mouth 
of the Kansas — named from the Indians living on its 
banks — 340 miles from the Mississippi. Game was 
abundant, and there are allusions to deer, elk, and buf- 
falo. At the mouth of the Platlc River they sent out 
messengers to bring in Indians, since a portion of their 
duty was to endeavor to make peace among the different 
tribes they met with. Otoes and Pawnees lived not far 
of¥, one of the Pawnee villages being then on the Platte, 
v/hile another was on the Republican, and a third on the 
Wolf-— now known as the Loup River. Incidental refer- 
ence is here made to several tribes which wander and 
hunt on the heads of the Platte River, and thence to the 
Rpck Mountains; one of these is called the Staitan, or 
Kite Indians, said to have acquired the name of Kite from 
their flying; that is, from "their being always on horse- 
back." These Indians are, no doubt, the Cheyennes, 
formerly spelled in a variety of ways, of which Schians 
was then one of the commonest. If we imagine that the 
two t's in Staitan are misprints for h's, we have almost 
the present word. These Indians are said to be extremely 
ferocious, and the most warHke of all the western In- 
dians; they never yield in battle, nor spare their enemies, 
and the retaliation of this barbarity has almost ex- 
tinguished the nation. After these, according to our 
authors, come the Wetapahato and Kiawa tribes, asso- 
ciated together, and amounting to two hundred men. 
I'he first of these names is interesting, for it is obviously 
a corruption of Wi ta pat (pronounced We to pate), 
which is the name by which the Cheyennes to-day call the 
Kiowas. Other tribes are mentioned, hardly now to be 
identified. 
On July 31 a party of Otoe and Missouria Indians came 
to their camp, and, on the following day, a council was 
held, at which presents, medals, and other ornaments 
were given to the Indians. The point where this council 
was held was given the name Council Bluffs, and it stands 
to-day across the river from Omaha, Nebraska. A little 
further up the river they reached an old Omaha village, 
once consisting of three hundred cabins, but it had been 
burned about 1799, soon after the smallpox had destroyed 
four hundred men, and a proportion of the women and 
children. This dread disease gave the Omahas the worst 
blow that they had ever received, and, perhaps even as 
much as their wars with the Pawnees, reduced them to a 
tributary people. On August 16, two parties were sent 
oiit to catch fish on a little stream. "They made a drag 
with small willows and bark, and swept the creek; the 
first company brought three hundred and eighteen, and 
the second upward of eight hundred, consisting of pike, 
bass, fish resembling salmon, trout, redhorse, buffalo, one 
rockfish, one flatback, perch, catfish, a small species of 
perch, called on the Ohio silverfish, and a shrimp of the 
same size, shape and flavor of those about New Orleans 
and the lower part of the Mississippi." 
A few days before, one of their Frenchmen had de- 
serted, and the commanding officers had sent out men to 
cspture him. This they succeeded in doing, but the man 
subsequently escaped again. On the i8th they received 
another party of Indians--Otoes and Missourias. The 
next day the first death occurred in the expedition, that 
of Charles Floyd, who was buried on the top of the hill, 
and his grave marked by a cedar post. Further up the 
sfream, beyond the mouth of the Big Sioux River, they 
killed their first bufifalo. Near the mouth of the White- 
stone they found a curious mound, described as a regu- 
lar parallelogram, the longest side being three hundred 
yards, and the shorter sixty or seventy. It rises sixty-five 
or seventy feet above the plain, and shows at the summit 
a level plain about twelve feet in breadth and ninety in 
length. This, according to the Sioux, was called the Hill 
of the Little People, and they believe that it is the abode 
of little devils, in human form, of about eighteen inches 
high, and with remarkably large heads; they are armed 
with sharp arrows, with which they are very'skillful, and 
are always on the watch to kill those who should have 
fhe hardihood to approach their residence." Many In- 
dians have been killed by these spirits, and, among others, 
three Omaha Indians, only a few 'years before. The 
Sioux, Omahas and Otoes are so afraid of the place that 
they never visit it. 
The wind blows so strongly over the plain in which this 
mound stands that insects are obliged to seek shelter on 
its leeward side, or be driven against it. The little birds 
which feed on these insects resort there in great numbers 
to pick them up. _ There the brown martin was so em- 
ployed, and the birds were so tame that they would not 
fly until closely approached. 
At Calumet Bluff the party was visited by a number of 
Yankton Sioux, brought in by Sergeant Pryor and his 
party, who had gone to the village to induce them to 
come to the river. A council was held with these In- 
dians, and presents given them; and in the evening the 
Indians danced for the entertainment of the white men. 
To the Durions — Frenchmen who were trading with these 
Indians — presents were given ; and they were requested to 
try to make peace between the Yanktons and their 
enemies. 
Reference is made to the soldier bands of the Sioux 
and Cheyennes, _ though without much comprehension of 
what this organization is. It is spoken of in these terms : 
"It is an association of the most active and brave young 
men, who are bound to each other by attachment, secured 
by a vow never to retreat before any danger or give way 
to their enemies. In war they go forward without shel- 
tering themselves behind trees, or aiding their natural 
valor by any artifice. This punctilious determination not 
to be turned from their course became heroic or ridicu-.- 
lous a short time since, when the Yanktons were crossing 
